IN AFRICA MIGRATION FOR DEVELOPMENT II. The strategic framework for managing migration IN AFRICA 9.6 Migration and health The linkages between migration and health concerns have recently been brought to the fore in the international discourse on migration, notably in the context of the spread of communicable diseases such as, inter alia, pandemic avian flu, HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and Ebola. Migrants are especially susceptible to health risks because of their pronounced conditions of vulnerability, including their restricted access to health services, both during and after periods of mobility. Because of the complex nature of the relationship between migration and health, the elaboration of comprehensive strategies addressing health matters will necessarily require further research on the underlying health problems and vulnerabilities of migrant populations, and considerations of access and entitlement to basic health services. It is noteworthy that xenophobia marginalises already vulnerable migrant communities and exacerbates the socioeconomic conditions that could contribute to migrants’ exclusion in access to health services, which may aggravate the spread of communicable diseases in both migration sending and host communities. Recommended strategies i. Conduct situation analyses and needs assessments of the health of migrants for planning purposes, with involvement and participation of the most vulnerable, including women and girls. ii. Ensure that migrants have adequate access to health care services by granting access to national healthcare systems and programmes ensuring that cultural and/or linguistic barriers do not prevent migrants from seeking and/or obtaining care, especially in relation to pregnancies, communicable diseases such as Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), tuberculosis and HIV and hepatitis. iii. Ensure the minimal healthcare service package for refugees and displaced persons, including prevention, treatment and health education, with special regard for the needs of vulnerable groups, and mobilise resources needed, by inter alia enhancing collaboration with UNHCR, IOM, WHO, ICRC, IFRC, UNFPA, UNAIDS, and other relevant agencies. iv. Strengthen research and data collection initiatives on the relationship between health and migration and enhancing co-operation between countries and relevant agencies including WHO, UNAIDS, IOM, UNFPA and ILO. v. Support the implementation of continental and regional policies, particularly the Abuja Declaration and Plan of Action on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and other related infectious diseases; the Abuja Call for accelerated Actions towards Universal Access to HIV and AIDS, TB and Malaria Services; the Catalytic Framework to End HIV and AIDS, TB and Malaria; and Decision CM/Dec. 673 (LXXIV), which recognised the vital role played 75